


Red Ties Them

by tdwk



Category: K (Anime)
Genre: M/M, Open to Interpretation, munakata reminiscences
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-29
Updated: 2015-12-29
Packaged: 2018-05-10 05:15:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5572345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tdwk/pseuds/tdwk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Winter had been almost unbearable for Munakata the past couple of years, and he smoked more to make up for the warmth that was no longer there, and wouldn't even return. Winter always had the darkest, longest nights.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Red Ties Them

Even without his Weismann levels telling him that his end was near, Munakata could feel the energy and life slowly leaving his body in small increments. The destruction of the Dresden Slate and the disappearance of his Sword of Damocles was just a little road bump. He simply waited, accepting, of his death.

In the aftermath of the JUNGLE incident, they'd immediately reinstated his position as captain to Scepter 4, apologising profusely and going so far as to send gifts of expensive wine and tea. He didn't care much, and Awashima had been the one to thank them instead of what should have been him, as the victorious yet grateful Blue King. The rest of Scepter 4 were content to leave him alone.

He leaned against the back gate of the Scepter 4 compound, feeling the ice-cold bars dig into his back through his black coat. The snow was quiet and the night was soft.

Winter had been almost unbearable for Munakata the past couple of years, and he smoked more to make up for the warmth that was no longer there, and wouldn't even return. Winter always had the darkest, longest nights. It made the world seem so much bigger, and Munakata so much smaller and all alone in it.

He lifted a cigarette to his lips and lit it with a lighter. The lighter was new, bought recently, because his own aura had been blue and not red.

The smoke Munakata inhaled intoxicated him, infiltrating his lungs, filling his empty heart, and then left in a rush of breath. He watched the puff of smoke disappear into the night sky. The sky which had once held the swords of eight kings. The very same sky he'd first met Mikoto under.

 

* * *

 

Munakata's third and final year of high school had gone exactly as planned; he became captain of the kendo club, was a top student, and had been made student council president. His friends were, naturally, of similar ilk, and Munakata couldn't be more satisfied with his young self.

His goal-orientated personality meant that Munakata often either ignored or just walked over anyone who tried to hinder him.

That applied to his non-existent love life too. Although detached and often distant to the student population, Munakata would nevertheless receive confessions of shy first crushes and curious underclassmen. And on February 14th, when the school was drowning in metaphorical pink and red hearts, he had finally had enough of all the blushing and after-school confessions.

The last girl who'd asked him out had started crying after he had frankly rejected her. It was tiring to be the object of young, misdirected love, especially when Munakata didn't care for such things. When she'd started blubbering about destiny and fate, and how they were tied by a red string of love, it got too much for Munakata and he'd bailed.

For the first time, he used his position as student council president to acquire a key to the school rooftop. The school was old, and the rooftop had been deemed too much of a hazard to students, with its low barriers and four floors. Munakata needed to take a breather and the rooftop was the only place where he could be alone, and in private. Everywhere else, from the club rooms to behind the gym, were occupied with lovestruck teenagers.

Instead of finding peace and quiet, he'd found the door to the rooftop slightly ajar and upon opening it, a student lounging in the afternoon sun.

"What are you doing here? It's off limits." Munakata said, surprised to find someone.

His words were met with a soft grunt. Annoyed at being ignored, Munakata moved to stand over the guy and to get a better look at him.

"It's you, Suoh Mikoto." Munakata said as Mikoto cracked an eye open. Munakata knew the names and faces of all the students in his year and Mikoto was one he actively avoided. Munakata had heard rumours that Mikoto was in with a bad crowd, but at that moment, the sleepy Mikoto looked harmless enough to Munakata.

"Suoh, I'm going to have to report to the Disciplinary Committee about this." Munakata watched the gradual rise and fall of Mikoto's chest for a while. "Are you listening, Suoh?" No response.

Munakata gave up trying to wake Mikoto after the failed attempts of loudly calling Mikoto's name and vigorously shaking his arm. If he didn't know better, Munakata swore Mikoto was deliberately faking it, but maybe he was just a really heavy sleeper.

Munakata glanced at his watch, there was still time until the bell rang for afternoon classes. He closed the door, so that no one else would find it open, and settled down next to Mikoto. He'd give the guy an earful later, but Munakata would wait until Mikoto was actually paying attention to him.

 

* * *

 

In the past, he had often spurned spending overly extended periods of time with outsiders. But that had changed; Scepter 4 had been the place, and the people there, where he'd spent the most time at.

And when Awashima had asked him, "Captain, did you know that all it takes is cutting a single red thread to sever the ties that bind two hearts," he'd looked her in the eye and told her that was why their purpose must be just and righteous. So that their swords wouldn't cut down innocents and leave behind regret.

Looking back to that question, Munakata finally understood that his lifeline, his red thread, had been irrevocably intertwined with another. Perhaps it had been fate that had dictated his first meeting with Mikoto, but by Munakata's own will, he had severed that tie. Now there was only a single thread remaining, his. And by itself, that thread was breaking without its pair to make it strong.

Suoh Mikoto, the bane of his existence, yet at the same time, Munakata couldn't breath for long without him. It was truly ironic, that history would repeat itself; even though he was no longer the Blue King, he would follow the Red King even in death.

 

* * *

 

 _finis vitae sed non amoris_  
(The end of life, but not of love).

**Author's Note:**

> Because I needed closure and MikoRei will always be an OTP.


End file.
